Why Tommy Robinson supporters are turning to Christianity

[ad_1] Aleem Maqbool, Faith editor and

Catherine Wyatt

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/c1e7/live/2dd26920-c6e5-11f0-8897-7bf2564e5296.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/c1e7/live/2dd26920-c6e5-11f0-8897-7bf2564e5296.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/c1e7/live/2dd26920-c6e5-11f0-8897-7bf2564e5296.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/c1e7/live/2dd26920-c6e5-11f0-8897-7bf2564e5296.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/c1e7/live/2dd26920-c6e5-11f0-8897-7bf2564e5296.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/c1e7/live/2dd26920-c6e5-11f0-8897-7bf2564e5296.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/c1e7/live/2dd26920-c6e5-11f0-8897-7bf2564e5296.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/c1e7/live/2dd26920-c6e5-11f0-8897-7bf2564e5296.jpg.webp" loading="eager" alt="BBC A bishop in black religious clothing stands with his hand on his hip looking at the camera holding an open red tub of Celebrations chocolates, surrounded by protesters draped in Union Jacks." class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> BBC Bishop Arun Arora is addressing a dilemma within the Church of England over welcoming individuals on each side of the immigration debate by looking for unity

Gareth Talbot doesn't essentially consider in God, however he is began going to church.

He felt compelled to take action after participating in considered one of Tommy Robinson's rallies in September.

"I by no means thought I had to decide on earlier than, however now I am feeling like Christianity may very well be changed, in order that's why I really feel the church wants help," the 36-year-old from Bradford says.

Gareth talks concerning the church in England being beneath "menace", as he sees it, primarily from Islam. He says his concern is concerning the excessive components of Islam, not the faith as a complete.

He additionally makes claims about all of the Christmas markets in London being renamed "festive markets" and about some areas of the nation turning into "absolutely Muslim", as different causes for feeling a necessity to have interaction extra with Christianity.

Having now returned to the church he used to attend as a toddler along with his grandmother in Little Horton, Bradford, Gareth says he desires to take extra of an curiosity in what's going on there.

"It isn't that I've discovered God," he says. "I've by no means felt you must go to church to be a Christian, but it surely's at all times been the Christian faith that is saved our values and freedoms, and that is why I must help it now."

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/03ec/live/600c1c80-c80a-11f0-b0f7-df9d17eef991.png.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/03ec/live/600c1c80-c80a-11f0-b0f7-df9d17eef991.png.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/03ec/live/600c1c80-c80a-11f0-b0f7-df9d17eef991.png.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/03ec/live/600c1c80-c80a-11f0-b0f7-df9d17eef991.png.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/03ec/live/600c1c80-c80a-11f0-b0f7-df9d17eef991.png.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/03ec/live/600c1c80-c80a-11f0-b0f7-df9d17eef991.png.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/03ec/live/600c1c80-c80a-11f0-b0f7-df9d17eef991.png.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/03ec/live/600c1c80-c80a-11f0-b0f7-df9d17eef991.png.webp" loading="lazy" alt="A man in a black coat stands on a path in a park, surrounded by green grass and trees. He has an inquisitive expression, looking slightly beyond the camera." class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> Gareth has returned to church in Bradford

He was amongst these attending September's Unite the Kingdom rally , and was in loads of firm. Lots of the protesters, estimated to quantity between 110,000 and 150,000, who marched in central London that day carried Christian symbols corresponding to wood crosses, and placards that includes Bible verses. Some had been dressed as crusader troopers.

That was quite a bit to do with the person who organised the occasion, Robinson - actual title Stephen Yaxley-Lennon - the far-right determine who says he lately discovered Christian religion whereas in jail.

All this has left the Church of England, an establishment steeped in nationwide historical past and tradition, however which has undergone a long time of declining attendance at its providers, grappling with basic questions.

How does it problem what some see as misrepresentations of Christian values, whereas welcoming potential new churchgoers?

And the way does it reconcile partaking these on one facet of the controversy like Gareth, with persevering with its long-standing interfaith work to foster understanding between Christians, Muslims and folks of different faiths and help asylum seekers?

When Gareth walked into the church in Little Horton, he met its vicar, the Reverend Derek Jones, who encapsulates the dilemma. Since then, Mr Jones has primarily been listening to Gareth and exploring what he means by British or Christian values.

"I am grateful for the chance to grasp the place he is coming from and what he thinks it means to advertise the values that he associates with the Christian religion," says Mr Jones.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/f7d3/live/f39760c0-c6e5-11f0-8c06-f5d460985095.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/f7d3/live/f39760c0-c6e5-11f0-8c06-f5d460985095.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/f7d3/live/f39760c0-c6e5-11f0-8c06-f5d460985095.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/f7d3/live/f39760c0-c6e5-11f0-8c06-f5d460985095.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/f7d3/live/f39760c0-c6e5-11f0-8c06-f5d460985095.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/f7d3/live/f39760c0-c6e5-11f0-8c06-f5d460985095.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/f7d3/live/f39760c0-c6e5-11f0-8c06-f5d460985095.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/f7d3/live/f39760c0-c6e5-11f0-8c06-f5d460985095.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="A mostly bald man wearing glasses and with a brown long bears, sits in front of church furniture while wearing a navy blue jacket. He is straight-faced, showing little emotion." class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> The Rev Derek Jones is taking time to hearken to Gareth and his views

"There are occasions once I query whether or not a few of these actions absolutely perceive the gospel that they're seeming to stroll behind, and my intestine feeling is it is extra about identification than religion," he provides.

It is a "troublesome highway for the Church to stroll," he says.

This debate has left some outstanding Christians feeling deeply uncomfortable. In September, a bunch of Church of England bishops joined leaders from different Christian denominations to sentence what they referred to as the "co-opting of the cross" at Robinson's rally as a method of inflicting division and "excluding others".

Whereas they acknowledged in an open letter that a lot of these on the rally felt a "deep sense of frustration at feeling unheard", the bishops mentioned the "cross was the last word signal of sacrifice for the opposite", and that Jesus referred to as on individuals to like their neighbours.

Their criticisms had been echoed by former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, who mentioned individuals ought to see migrants as weak individuals similar to them.

But away from the mainstream, Ceirion Dewar, who's a bishop within the small, extra conservative, traditionalist Confessing Anglican Church, insists he is not going to be "lectured to" by these clergy.

Having began Robinson's rally by main a prayer - a request he felt was his "Christian responsibility" to just accept - he says he noticed 1000's there who sincerely felt that Nice Britain was "based on Christian rules and from the Christian religion" and that this was being "eroded".

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/0f49/live/ce5717b0-c6e5-11f0-8897-7bf2564e5296.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/0f49/live/ce5717b0-c6e5-11f0-8897-7bf2564e5296.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/0f49/live/ce5717b0-c6e5-11f0-8897-7bf2564e5296.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/0f49/live/ce5717b0-c6e5-11f0-8897-7bf2564e5296.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/0f49/live/ce5717b0-c6e5-11f0-8897-7bf2564e5296.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/0f49/live/ce5717b0-c6e5-11f0-8897-7bf2564e5296.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/0f49/live/ce5717b0-c6e5-11f0-8897-7bf2564e5296.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/0f49/live/ce5717b0-c6e5-11f0-8897-7bf2564e5296.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="A bishop in religious clothing, holding a religious wooden stick, stands in the middle of a rally in central London with lots of St George's flags and Union Jacks in the background, while being interviewed by a man wearing a Union Jack themed blazer and trousers." class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> Bishop Ceirion Dewar (left) led a prayer on the United the Kingdom rally in September

He additionally spoke alongside Robinson at a earlier rally in Trafalgar Sq., telling the group the "nation was beneath assault" by Muslims, "woke ideology", cancel tradition and Labour MPs.

He says clergy ought to cease "judging individuals" and "get into the streets and hearken to their considerations".

Whichever perspective one brings, the emergence of Robinson and his supporters is clearly dividing Christians, and there's no simple reply for the way the Church can method it whereas remaining true to its deeply held worth of tolerance.

In latest months, that tolerance and charity has been on show at a lodge housing migrants in West Yorkshire. There, members of native church buildings have expressed their Christianity by supporting asylum seekers.

However the migrants have additionally confronted hostility and opposition to their presence, with weekly protests exterior the lodge.

A kind of staying there's Amir - not his actual title - who 4 months in the past got here to the UK throughout the Channel on a small boat, having fled persecution in Iran. He has been baptised and has began going to church in Britain.

Final month he was overwhelmed up near the lodge, although the attackers and their motive shouldn't be recognized for sure.

"I hope it by no means occurs to anybody else. I left my nation as a result of I didn't really feel safe, and now I don't really feel safe right here," says Amir.

He has now been granted go away to stay within the UK and says the very fact he and the opposite migrants within the lodge have obtained help from church-goers has "been so vital for us".

As night falls exterior the migrant lodge, anti-immigration protesters and counter-demonstrators collect. Weaving between the 2 sides is the Bishop of Kirkstall, the Proper Reverend Arun Arora, who's handing out candies.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/59b0/live/089c3cc0-c6e6-11f0-9fb5-5f3a3703a365.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/59b0/live/089c3cc0-c6e6-11f0-9fb5-5f3a3703a365.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/59b0/live/089c3cc0-c6e6-11f0-9fb5-5f3a3703a365.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/59b0/live/089c3cc0-c6e6-11f0-9fb5-5f3a3703a365.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/59b0/live/089c3cc0-c6e6-11f0-9fb5-5f3a3703a365.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/59b0/live/089c3cc0-c6e6-11f0-9fb5-5f3a3703a365.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/59b0/live/089c3cc0-c6e6-11f0-9fb5-5f3a3703a365.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/59b0/live/089c3cc0-c6e6-11f0-9fb5-5f3a3703a365.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="A bishop in black religious clothing holds an open red tub of Celebrations chocolates down to a sitting protester, a man with a white cap who has a St George's flag around his shoulders and a Union Jack banner pinned to the fence behind him." class="sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA"/> Bishop Arora says he believes in wholesome disagreement

The bishop, who was hugged by the organiser of the anti-immigration protest, says a part of his position is to point out that "God does not have favouritism" and to offer a impartial area for individuals to be heard.

"A part of the rationale that the organiser and I do know each other, is that I reached out to him on social media to satisfy and break bread collectively and to say 'How can we disagree properly? How can we share this metropolis figuring out that we're going to take radically totally different views on this concern?'" says Bishop Arora.

He additionally feels it is vital the Church calls out "injustice" and "hatred", and criticises what he refers to as "a slender Christian nationalist ideology" he says has been on show of late.

Some within the Unite the Kingdom motion appear snug, even proud, of being referred to as "Christian nationalist" - whereas others really feel it's a time period meant to malign some who're merely defending what they interpret as "Christian values".

Bishop Arora's use of that time period and speaking of "hatred" may not sound impartial to a number of the anti-immigration protesters exterior the migrant lodge. On the opposite facet, some may be uncomfortable with him hugging the organiser of protests that left individuals within the lodge feeling intimidated.

However his makes an attempt to search out widespread floor could also be an method others within the Church are quietly adopting, too.

In January, Church of England bishops from across the nation will collect - with "nationwide unity and variety" one of many subjects on the agenda. A political theologian and different consultants have been invited to assist talk about the problem, which is seen as one of many greatest it at the moment faces.

When she was appointed in October, the Archbishop of Canterbury-elect Sarah Mullally described a divided society, warning "individuals are frightened for many causes, and sometimes that then presents in ways in which, for different individuals, could really feel threatening".

Clergy like Mr Jones have largely been left to their very own gadgets to date with regards to welcoming individuals like Gareth to the Church, whereas supporting those that really feel threatened by the motion to which he belongs.